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UYGULAMALARI
ANSYS Utilities
An introduction to using ANSYS, including a quick explanation of the stages of analysis, how
to start ANSYS, and the use of the windows in ANSYS, and using Pro/ENGINEER with
ANSYS.
Introduction to Finite Element Analysis
A brief introduction of the 3 stages involved in finite element analysis.
Starting up ANSYS
How to start ANSYS using windows NT and Unix X-Windows.
ANSYS Environment
An introduction to the windows used in ANSYS
ANSYS Interface
An explanation of the Graphic User Interface (GUI) in comparison to the command
file approach.
Convergence Testing
This file can help you to determine how small your meshing elements need to be
before you can trust the solution.
Saving/Restoring Jobs
Description of how to save your work in ANSYS and how to resume a previously
saved job.
ANSYS Files
Definitions of the different files created by ANSYS.
Printing Results
Saving data and figures generated in ANSYS.
Introduction
ANSYS is a general purpose finite element modeling package for numerically solving a wide
variety of mechanical problems. These problems include: static/dynamic structural analysis
(both linear and non-linear), heat transfer and fluid problems, as well as acoustic and electromagnetic problems.
In general, a finite element solution may be broken into the following three stages. This is a
general guideline that can be used for setting up any finite element analysis.
1. Preprocessing: defining the problem; the major steps in preprocessing are given
below:
o Define keypoints/lines/areas/volumes
o Define element type and material/geometric properties
o Mesh lines/areas/volumes as required
The amount of detail required will depend on the dimensionality of the analysis (i.e.
1D, 2D, axi-symmetric, 3D).
2. Solution: assigning loads, constraints and solving; here we specify the loads (point
or pressure), contraints (translational and rotational) and finally solve the resulting set
of equations.
3. Postprocessing: further processing and viewing of the results; in this stage one
may wish to see:
o Lists of nodal displacements
o Element forces and moments
o Deflection plots
o Stress contour diagrams
Starting up ANSYS
Starting up ANSYS
Large File Sizes
ANSYS can create rather large files when running and saving; be sure that your local drive
has space for it.
Getting the Program Started
In the Mec E 3-3 lab, there are two ways that you can start up ANSYS:
1. Windows NT application
2. Unix X-Windows application
Windows NT Start Up
Starting up ANSYS in Windows NT is simple:
Start Menu
Programs
ANSYS 5.7
Run Interactive Now
Unix X-Windows Start Up
Starting the Unix version of ANSYS involves a few more steps:
in the task bar at the bottom of the screen, you should see something labeled X-Win32.
If you don't see this minimized program, you can may want to reboot the computer, as
it automatically starts this application when booting.
right click on this menu and selection Sessions and then select Mece.
you will now be prompted to login to GPU... do this.
once the Xwindows emulator has started, you will see an icon at the bottom of the
screen that looks like a paper and pencil; don't select this icon, but rather, click on the
up arrow above it and select Terminal
a terminal command window will now start up
in that window, type xansys57
at the UNIX prompt and a small launcher menu will appear.
d. Main Menu
The Main Menu contains the primary ANSYS functions, organized by
preprocessor, solution, general postprocessor, design optimizer. It is from this
menu that the vast majority of modelling commands are issued. This is where
you will note the greatest change between previous versions of ANSYS and
version 7.0. However, while the versions appear different, the menu structure
has not changed.
e. Graphics Window
The Graphic Window is where graphics are shown and graphical picking can
be made. It is here where you will graphically view the model in its various
stages of construction and the ensuing results from the analysis.
2. Output Window
The Output Window shows text output from the program, such as listing of data etc. It is
usually positioned behind the main window and can de put to the front if necessary.
ANSYS Interface
Graphical Interface vs. Command File Coding
There are two methods to use ANSYS. The first is by means of the graphical user interface or
GUI. This method follows the conventions of popular Windows and X-Windows based
programs.
The second is by means of command files. The command file approach has a steeper learning
curve for many, but it has the advantage that an entire analysis can be described in a small text
file, typically in less than 50 lines of commands. This approach enables easy model
modifications and minimal file space requirements.
The tutorials in this website are designed to teach both the GUI and the command file
approach, however, many of you will find the command file simple and more efficient to use
once you have invested a small amount of time into learning the code.
For information and details on the full ANSYS command language, consult:
Help > Table of Contents > Commands Manual.
Beam Models
For beam models, we actually only need to define a single element per line unless we are
applying a distributed load on a given frame member. When point loads are used, specifying
more that one element per line will not change the solution, it will only slow the calculations
down. For simple models it is of no concern, but for a larger model, it is desired to minimize
the number of elements, and thus calculation time and still obtain the desired accuracy.
General Models
In general however, it is necessary to conduct convergence tests on your finite element model
to confirm that a fine enough element discretization has been used. In a solid mechanics
problem, this would be done by creating several models with different mesh sizes and
comparing the resulting deflections and stresses, for example. In general, the stresses will
converge more slowly than the displacement, so it is not sufficient to examine the
displacement convergence.
ANSYS Files
Introduction
A large number of files are created when you run ANSYS. If you started ANSYS without
specifying a jobname, the name of all the files created will be FILE.* where the * represents
various extensions described below. If you specified a jobname, say Frame, then the created
files will all have the file prefix, Frame again with various extensions:
frame.db
Database file (binary). This file stores the geometry, boundary conditions and any
solutions.
frame.dbb
Backup of the database file (binary).
frame.err
Error file (text). Listing of all error and warning messages.
frame.out
Output of all ANSYS operations (text). This is what normally scrolls in the output
window during an ANSYS session.
frame.log
Logfile or listing of ANSYS commands (text). Listing of all equivalent ANSYS
command line commands used during the current session.
etc...
Depending on the operations carried out, other files may have been written. These files
may contain results, etc.
What to save?
When you want to clean up your directory, or move things from the /scratch directory, what
files do you need to save?
If you will always be using the GUI, then you only require the .db file. This file stores
the geometry, boundary conditions and any solutions. Once the ANSYS has started,
and the jobname has been specified, you need only activate the resume command to
proceed from where you last left off (see Saving and Restoring Jobs).
If you plan on using ANSYS command files, then you need only store your command
file and/or the log file. This file contains a complete listing of the ANSYS commands
used to get you model to its current point. That file may be rerun as is, or edited and
rerun as desired (Command File Creation and Execution).
If you plan to use the command mode of operation, starting with an existing log file, rename it
first so that it does not get over-written or added to, from another ANSYS run.
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put as many plots as you want into the plot file. When you are finished plotting what you want
to the file, redirect plots back to the screen using:
'Utility menu bar'/'PlotCtrls'/'Redirect Plots'/'To Screen'.
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Printing it out: Now that you've got your color postscript file, what are you going to do
with it? Take a look here for instructions on colour postscript printing at a couple of
sites on campus where you can have your beautiful stress plot plotted to paper,
overheads or even posters!
2. Black & White PostScript: The above mentioned colour postscript files can get very
large in size and may not even print out on the postscript printer in the lab because it
takes so long to transfer the files to the printer and process them. A way around this is
to print them out in a black and white postscript format instead of colour; besides the
colour specifications don't do any good for the black and white lab printer anyways.
To do this, you set the postscript color option to '3', i.e. and then issue the other
commands as before
pscr,color,3
/show,pscr
plot,n
Note: when you import a postscript file into a word processor, the postscript image
will appear as blank box. The printer information is still present, but it can only be
viewed when it's printed out to a postscript printer.
3. HPGL: The third commonly used printer format is HPGL, which stands for Hewlett
Packard Graphics Language. This is a compact vector format that has the advantage
that when you import a file of this type into a word processor, you can actually see the
image in the word processor! To use the HPGL format, issue the following
commands:
/show,hpgl
plot,n
Final Steps
It is wise to rename these plot files as soon as you leave display, for display will
overwrite the files the next time it is run. You may want to rename the postscript files
with an '.eps' extension to indicate that they are encapsulated postscript images. In a
similar way, the HPGL printer files could be given an '.hpgl' extension. This renaming
is done at the Unix commmand line (the 'mv' command).
A list of all available display commands and their options may be obtained by typing:
help
When complete, exit display by entering
finish
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